Exodus to Baltics: Latvian villagers challenge politicians

The inhabitants of Mucenieki, the village where Latvia’s only refugee centre is located, have sent a letter to Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma requesting a meeting

The national-conservative daily Neatkarīgā supports the initiative:

My dear villagers, thank you for this letter to the prime minister! In view of the government’s plans [to take in 737 refugees], it concerns each and every one of us: every community and every city. The Latvian test balloon is rising above the village of Mucenieki. Here we will discover what kind of system we need for refugees to protect the local inhabitants from inconveniences and risks. … The contents of the letter show that the government has done nothing in recent years as regards asylum seekers. … Latvia is like a primitive organism, like a worm: only when you touch it with a stick does it start to squirm.